Family fish pie

Instructions

1. 1

   Preheat the oven to 200°C fan/220°C conventional. Put a large saucepan of cold water on for the potatoes.

2. 2

   Peel and cut the floury potatoes into even 3–4 cm chunks. Cover with cold water, add a good pinch of sea salt and bring to the boil. Simmer until tender, about 18–20 minutes.

3. 3

   Meanwhile, put the white fish fillets, salmon fillet and smoked haddock fillet in a wide, shallow pan. Pour in enough milk to just cover (use roughly half the milk), then bring to a gentle simmer. Poach very gently until the fish is just opaque — about 6 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to lift the fish out and set aside; keep the poaching milk.

4. 4

   Strain the reserved poaching milk into a jug to remove any solids and return about 400 ml to a clean saucepan. Melt 30 g of the butter over a medium heat, stir in the plain flour and cook for 1 minute to make a roux. Whisk in the warm reserved milk a little at a time until smooth, then add the double cream and simmer until thickened, 3–5 minutes. Stir in the Dijon mustard and season with sea salt and black pepper.

5. 5

   Gently flake the poached fish into large pieces, checking carefully for bones and discarding any skin. Keep the flakes chunky — they should be visible in the sauce.

6. 6

   Stir the frozen peas into the sauce to warm through for 1–2 minutes, then fold in the flaked fish, most of the chopped fresh parsley, and the zest and juice of half the lemon. Taste and adjust seasoning.

7. 7

   Drain the potatoes and return to the pan. Mash with the remaining butter and a splash of the remaining milk until smooth. Stir in most of the grated mature Cheddar and season with sea salt and black pepper.

8. 8

   Spoon the fish mixture into a large ovenproof dish (about 2.5 litres). Dollop or pipe the mash on top, smooth or create peaks with a fork, then scatter the remaining grated mature Cheddar over the surface.

9. 9

   Bake in the preheated oven until bubbling and the top is golden, about 25 minutes.

10. 10

    If you want a deeper colour, put under the grill for 2–3 minutes — watch closely to avoid burning.

11. 11

    Remove from the oven and leave to rest for 10 minutes before serving. Scatter the remaining fresh parsley and a little extra lemon juice over the top to brighten the dish.

Tips

• Poach the fish gently and remove it as soon as it’s opaque — overcooked fish will fall apart and make the sauce grainy.
• Use floury potatoes (Maris Piper or King Edward) for a light, fluffy mash that browns nicely under the grill.
• If your smoked haddock is very salty, soak it briefly in cold water for 10 minutes before poaching and pat dry.
• Make the sauce in the same pan you poached the fish in to keep the flavour; save the poaching milk and use it for the sauce.
• This can be assembled, chilled and baked from cold the next day — add about 10–15 minutes to the oven time if baking from chilled.

Substitutions

• smoked haddock fillet → use extra white fish fillets (400 g more) or replace with smoked salmon (same weight)

  Stays close

• grated mature Cheddar → use mild Cheddar or Lancashire cheese (same weight)

  Noticeably different

• double cream → use extra milk with 1 tsp butter (reduces richness)

  Noticeably different

Nutrition

Per serving · estimated

734

Calories

44 g

Protein

47 g

Carbs

41 g

Fat

5 g

Fibre

6 g

Sugar

850 mg

Sodium

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